Meg Cabot

This Week I Read…

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I completely spaced out and forgot to post this Tuesday. I was sitting on imgresthe couch, thinking there was something I needed to do. I decided it was take a nap. So now here I am, posting my this week’s reads on Thursday (don’t even ask about yesterday, I have no excuse).

I finished the Princess Diaries! The last two books were so good I couldn’t stop reading. I spent all of July 4th with my face buried in book 10.

First up there was Princess Diaries IX: Princess Mia, then Princess Diaries X: Forever Princess.

imgres-1And finally, the one I’d been waiting to read for months, the reason I started this reading adventure – The Princess Diaries XI: Royal Wedding.

I was curious to see if, years after the last book was released, Meg Cabot could keep the story alive. And you know what? She did. It was like visiting an old friend you have  n’t seen in a while and picking up as though no time at all imgres-2had passed. I loved seeing what happens to Mia (and everyone else) after high school. It was fun and funny with just a hint of the very ridiculous.

This Week I Read…June 30th Edition

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Welcome back to another edition of “This Week I Read.” Firstimages up was, surprise, The Princess Diaries Volume VII: Party Princess by Meg Cabot. I’m moving into the books I don’t remember as well, which only adds to the adventure. I mean, how did I forget Grandmere’s play?! It is a triumph my dear, a triumph.

I did take a break from the Princess Diaries this week because I watched the movie The Duff. I read the book, The Duff by Kody Keplinger, a few months ago soimgres-1 I was excited about the film. It did not live up to my expectations at all. See, the brilliant thing about the book is it deals with real issues, not issues adults think are appropriate for teenagers. The book is full of swearing, sex, alcoholism, bullying and more. The movie takes on some of that, well the bullying part, but makes it a cliche commentary on high school hierarchies that is disappointing and ineptly dealt with. The controversial material that makes the book one of the best contemporary YA novels I’ve ever read is dumbed down and ignored. No one is going to argue that cyberbullying is ok. But seventeen year olds who hate each other having meaningless sex and hiding it from their friends? Things just got interesting. So, obviously, I had to reread the book .

This Week I Read… (June 23rd Edition)

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You may have guessed it – this week I read the next two books in the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot.

Fiimages-1rst up was The Princess Diaries Volume V: Princess in Pink, followed by The Princess Diaries Volume VI: Princess in Training. images

The fun thing about rereading books is that I generally remember the beginning and the end but I have no idea how the book goes from point A to point Z. Perhaps I have a bad memory. More likely it’s because I have so many books floating around in my head, it’s hard to remember all the nuances and plot twists. I can hardly keep those straight for the books I’m writing, let alone all the ones I read!

This Week I Read…

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As I continue my re-reading of The Princess Diaries, there are so many things I’d forgotten about. I had completely forgotten, for example, the movie Blue Crush came out in the early 2000’s and that, for the first few years of the millennium, we were still using dial-up. I’m finding the books funnier this time around and I think it has to do with my distance from my teenage years. When I read them the first time, I was a teenager, I felt Mia’s high school angst. Now that I am no longer a dramatic teen myself, I am enjoying the books even more.

9372897800600960901This week I finished books three and four.

The Princess Diaries Volume III: Princess in Love

The Princess Diaries Volume IV: Princess in Waiting

This Week I Read…

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You are about to see how busy my life had been over the past week:

I only read one book.

Gasp.

The Princeimgresss Diaries Vol. 2: Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot. This has always been one of my favorites in the series. In fact the first three books are, in my opinion, the best. Volume 2 in particular, though, has lots of wonderful early 00’s pop culture references that perfectly align with my own middle school/high school memories. It’s one of those books that will always be special to me because of when I first read it and my teenage-hood nostalgia.

 

What did you read this week?

This Week I Read…

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Even though it was a crazy busy week, I still fit in time for reading (how can I not when my TBR shelves continue to grow?). Here are the books I read:

Bedwetter_cover Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman. If you, like me, love comedy memoir, this is a must read. It was hilarious and obscene, with lots of photos. I loved how honest she was about her life, particularly when she was talking about some of her moments of shame and the hate mail she’s received.

 

 

 

princess-coverThe Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. In preparation for reading the eleventh book in the series, I am reading the first ten (as one does). I forgot how great these books are! They are fun, funny, and addicting in the best possible way. I forgot how much I love Grandmere. If you’ve only seen the movie, you’re missing out. Let’s just say the book Grandmere has tattooed eyeliner, drinks sidecars like they’re water, and dresses from head to toe in purple.

What are you reading this week?

In other, related news, my review for Plus One is up on the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books site! Click here to read it: Plus One Review by Celia

RT – The Photo Edition

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tamora

 

Tamora Pierce and I, hanging out in the bar, talking about Alanna!

 

meg

 

Meg Cabot and I at her Princess Diaries Fan Party.

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My advance copy of the last Princess Diaries book that I won in a raffle.

steampunk

 

My fellow aspiring authors and I, all dressed up and ready for the Steampunk Party.

 

fascinator

 

My handmade fascinator from the Flaunt Your Fascinator party with the lovely hostess, Eloisa James.

 

 

books

Just part of my brand new book collection! The rest arrived in the mail yesterday and it was a perfect early birthday present. Now I need to see about getting a second bookshelf to fit all my new acquisitions.

RT Top Ten

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Top Ten RT Booklovers Convention Moments (in no particular order)

1. Making a new friend on the shuttle from the airport. This then led to making many more new friends. By Wednesday we’d formed a posse. By Friday we made plans to all come back next year!

2. On Saturday I was walking through the bar when I happened upon Tamora Pierce, sitting alone and reading. I was all ready to keep going but my friend stopped me and persuaded me to ask for a photo with her. I am so glad I did. She told me about her process writing Alanna and her early days of trying to get published.

3. As I sat in the bar on Friday night, wearing my Princess Diaries tiara, I saw Meg Cabot. She noticed me too, called me a princess, and gave me a royal, princess wave.

4. Erica O’Rourke, a published author I met at the RWA Chicago North Spring Fling conference last year, offered to help me reach my goal of pitching a finished manuscript at next year’s conference. She said she’d be running registration the first night and would ask to see my book.

5. In one of the panels, an author made a careless comment that was potentially insulting to many of the audience members. Cherry Adair called her out on it and masterfully defended not only her own writing but that of all the writers everywhere.

6. Many of the panels surprised me by how good they were. In particular, the panel on writing LGBTQ characters and the BDSM panel blew me away. I heard from authors who were passionate and knowledgeable about their genre and their craft.

7. Heather Graham’s supernatural western party was fun, campy, and highly entertaining. I especially loved it when a little girl in a tutu and rain boots won the costume contest.

8. The comedy panel was everything I wanted and more. If I can write anything even half as funny as the women on that panel, I’ll be doing well. Any of their books I haven’t read yet are shooting to the top of my TBR list.

9. Being the crafty gal I am, I couldn’t resist making fascinators with Eloisa James. It was a delightful hour filled with ribbons, glitter, fake flowers, tulle, and historical romance authors!

10. I spent another spectacular hour with my favorite bloggers, the women from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, knitting and talking about Outlander. A knitting book chat with my favorite snarky bloggers? It honestly doesn’t get better than that.